Pocky Practice
by Fire Bear1
Summary: Yachi brings Pocky to practice and Hinata is determined to defend his title of Pocky Champion! Kageyama (among a few others) is not impressed.


_**I decided I wanted to write this sort of for Valentine's but I was busy with another story, so...  
**_

 _ **I don't have a particular time this is set at.**_

 _ **NB: Have not read the manga - I only have anime knowledge. Sorry.**_

* * *

Kageyama was spinning a volleyball, preparing to hit a serve to Hinata to see if he could receive it, when Yachi entered the gym that day.

Usually, such a thing would be unremarkable but she was hauling a large, bulky carrier bag with her. Also, with Ukai and Takeda not yet present, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Kageyama wouldn't have paid attention at all but Hinata gave a inarticulate cry and darted off the court. Since everyone else was gathering around the girl, Kageyama grumbled and made his way over, spinning the ball as he moved.

"What have you got there, Yachi-san?" Hinata asked before anyone else could.

Yachi grinned proudly. "My friend's club held a competition to gather interest and I won third place!"

"Really? Wow! What was the competition?"

"To make a poster about the literature club," said Yachi, ducking her head shyly to hide a blush.

"Huh? Then how come you never got first?" Hinata asked in confusion.

"Oh, uh, some people from the art club entered..."

"Aw! I'm sure yours was better than theirs, anyway, Yachi-san!" Hinata declared. Kageyama rolled his eyes at Hinata's unwavering faith in his friends.

"What did you win?" Daichi asked as Yachi happily beamed at Hinata. "That's a big bag..."

"Oh! Um, they gave me boxes of Pocky..."

"Really?!" Hinata exclaimed, eyes bright. Yachi confirmed her statement by dipping a hand into the bag and revealing one of the boxes. It happened to be chocolate but she dipped her hand in and pulled out the panda Pocky, too.

"Would you like a box?" she asked.

"Ah, no!" Hinata replied, grinning widely. "I have a better idea – let's play the Pocky game!"

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!" Yachi cried, her face turning red almost immediately.

It took a few more seconds for everyone else to register what Hinata had said. "What?!" said Kageyama, stilling the volleyball in his hands.

"Come on! It'll be fun! I used to play it in middle school. I won all the time – I'm the Pocky Champion."

"You seem really proud about that," Tsukishima said, dryly.

Hinata ignored him and quickly snatched the box from Yachi's hand. "It'll be fun!"

The rest of the team looked at each other, clearly considering it. Most of them seemed amused by the suggestion while others didn't seem all that keen on the idea. Asahi looked downright terrified – though he may have caught a glimpse of Tsukishima's thunderous expression. As for Kageyama himself...

Images of Hinata willingly leaning towards Yachi or Yamaguchi or, hell, even Tsukishima made his stomach turn. Not to mention Kiyoko. Why he felt like that... Well, that was a question for a much later time; he pushed those thoughts away and tightened his grip on the volleyball.

"We're in the middle of practice, dumbass," he snapped. "We don't have _time_ to play a different game."

"It'll be quick!" Hinata insisted, shooting a dark look at him.

"We'll still be behind!"

"It'll be fine – right, Captain?"

Daichi looked around them all before shrugging a shoulder. "Well..." he said, slowly. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a little fun." Several members of the team cheered. "But!" Daichi interrupted them. "We'll practice twice as hard afterwards!"

"Yessir!" everyone responded.

Kageyama had to forcibly relax his grip on the volleyball and quickly spun it in order to stop himself squeezing it so much that it flew from his hands. As he spun it a second time, he inhaled and exhaled once it stopped, trying to remain calm. It was just a stupid game, he told himself. And Hinata would only do it with one person before it was someone else's turn. They would get bored of it not long after that and they'd all get back to normal. Everything was fine.

"Yachi-san!" Hinata said, turning to her as he hurriedly opened the box. "I'll do it with you first, okay?"

"Ehhhhh?!" Yachi replied, turning red and back-pedalling from him. She waved her hands frantically. "M-M- _Me_?!"

"Well, _you're_ the one who brought them here so it's only fair!"

"I-I-I-I-I-" stammered Yachi.

"Come on!" Hinata said. And, with a flourish, he removed a biscuit from the packet and bit onto the biscuit end, his lips wrapping around it so that the exposed biscuit was almost entirely covered.

Yachi's blush darkened, her eyes wide. She looked about to protest once more when she glanced around at the others. All of them were watching her and Hinata and, with a small squeak, she squeezed her eyes shut. For a moment, Kageyama thought she was frozen in place. Then she gulped, bit her lip, took a deep breath and quickly latched onto the other end of the Pocky.

Hinata glanced around and waved at Nishinoya who grinned and leaned forward, raising his hand. "Ready, and... go!" he declared, dropping his hand as if he was starting a race.

As usual, Hinata was almost too fast to see. He nibbled along that biscuit as if he was trying to do a quick attack. Yachi was too startled to do anything for a moment but she rallied once Hinata had already eaten a third of the biscuit. She began to work – only to open her eyes. Then, her eyes widened and, in a panic, she jerked away, her part of the biscuit still clamped between her teeth. The Pocky snapped and Hinata was left with a larger portion.

"Haha," said Nishinoya, slapping a hand on Hinata's back. Hinata grinned around the Pocky and began to take larger bites. "Well done, Shoyou," Nishinoya added. "Knew you could do it."

"It's just eating Pocky," Tsukishima muttered, rolling his eyes.

Licking the chocolate off his fingers, Hinata nodded. "Told ya I was the champion," he said. "And now I get another turn!"

"What?" Kageyama demanded, squeezing the volleyball again.

"Well, I won," Hinata explained, rolling his eyes as well. "Obviously, I keep going until someone can beat me."

"That's not a rule," protested Kageyama, glancing towards Daichi, hoping he would end this madness. Hinata had been so close to Yachi, too close to her, and it had made Kageyama's chest feel tight. Not that _that_ meant anything. It was just annoying to see it at practice.

Daichi looked between Hinata and Kageyama before looking over his shoulder at Suga. Kageyama looked over at his other senpai and was dismayed to see him wearing an amused smile. "Hm?" said Daichi, raising an eyebrow.

"I think it could be fun," Suga said, glancing at Kageyama.

 _Dammit_ , Kageyama thought. Suga was far too good at noticing things.

"Yay!" said Hinata and looked around the team. For each person he frowned or tilted his head. When his eyes met Kageyama's, though, he immediately looked away. "Hm..."

"Me, me!" cried Tanaka, grinning widely. "Me next! I'll win!"

"No way!" Nishinoya protested. "I wanna be the one to beat the Pocky Champion!"

"What're ya gonna do?" Tanaka asked. "Beat him with Rolling Thunder?"

" _No_ ," Nishinoya replied. "It would be..." Nishinoya raised a hand and formed it into an imitation of a reptile's head. Then he lashed forward, his fingers 'biting'. "Lightning Bite!" he announced.

"Ooh!" said Hinata, his eyes shining with wonder. "So cool!"

"So, who are you gonna choose?" Tanaka asked. "Me or Noya?"

"Hm." Hinata gripped his chin in thought, looking between them. "Tanaka-san!" he eventually declared. "And then Noya-san."

" _Huh_?!" said Tanaka, glaring at Hinata. "You think you'll beat me?"

"Yup," Hinata replied, grinning, his eyes shining. He looked about as excited as when he was in the middle of a match. Kageyama almost felt jealous. Not that he actually _did_...

Without further ado, Hinata pulled out another Pocky, carefully biting the end with exposed biscuit. Tanaka grinned and promptly latched onto the biscuit. Still pouting, Nishinoya lifted a hand. "Ready, and... go." And he dropped his hand again.

Hinata immediately began nibbling his way along. Tanaka took a split second to start and so was a little slower but he took larger bites. Eyes narrowing, Hinata sped up so that they were closing the gap far faster than Hinata and Yachi had been. It wasn't long before their noses bumped against each other. At that point, Tanaka paused, blinking at Hinata. The younger boy merely closed his eyes, tilted his head to the side and continued onwards.

Kageyama tightened his grip on his volleyball, pulling it towards his chest.

Tanaka seemingly panicked: he jerked his head back and the biscuit snapped in two, a tiny bit still dangling from Hinata's lips. He smirked around the Pocky before his tongue darted out and wrapped around it, drawing it into his mouth. Kageyama shuddered and hugged the ball to his chest as he struggled to breathe normally.

These strange reactions were getting ridiculous.

As Tanaka protested the result and Nishinoya laughed raucously at him, movement caught Kageyama's eyes. He glanced over and saw that Suga was watching him, shifting his weight slightly. Suga raised an eyebrow and Kageyama realised that he couldn't deny the way his heart was beating fast, as if it was the last few minutes of a really important match. His breathing was irregular, too, as if he had been practising hard instead of standing around watching people eat biscuits. And he felt warm, the way he did when he had a fever or had been wearing his sweatshirt for hours of practice.

There was no way to deny it any longer – but there was no way he could do anything about it. Not in front of everyone else, at least.

"Right!" Nishinoya shouted, drawing both Kageyama and Suga's attention. "My turn!"

"I-" Kageyama started, though he had no idea what he was intending to say.

Grinning, Hinata obediently whipped out another Pocky stick and clamped down on his end. Nishinoya licked his lips and grinned in response before biting down on the chocolatey end. Then, before anyone could start them off, their eyes met and they began nibbling along the biscuit. Nishinoya's pace matched Hinata's and their bites were the same size. It looked like it would be a draw if the biscuit snapped in half. Kageyama relaxed a little.

Their noses bumped and both of them tilted their heads in the same instant. Kageyama immediately tensed up again and his heart stopped – it had looked like they were used to it, like they did it all the time. Maybe they did. Maybe he hadn't noticed... He didn't get much of a chance to worry more as they got close enough that their lips brushed. The tip of Hinata's tongue darted out, passing in the slight gap that Nishinoya's parted lips provided. Nishinoya's gasp was heard by the team and Hinata immediately pressed in. Alarmed and red-faced, Nishinoya jerked back. Hinata pulled away and grinned at the staring Nishinoya. Then he stuck out his tongue to reveal the last of the Pocky before pulling it into his mouth and swallowing.

"Thanks, Nishinoya-senpai!" Hinata licked his lips. "I won again!"

"Wha-? How?" Kageyama demanded, trying to fold his arms and prevented from doing so because of the ball.

"'Cause I got the last little bit," Hinata explained.

Nishinoya groaned and put his head in his hands. "He's right," he mumbled. "He took it right out of my mouth before I could swallow it."

"I'm not letting anyone take my title!" Hinata declared. "Who's next? How about you, Asahi-san?"

"M-M-M-Me?" Asahi stammered. "Um, I..."

"I think Asahi might be a bit shy," Suga said, teasingly.

"I'd rather be practising," Asahi murmured.

Kageyama took his chance. "So would I, Asahi-san. Maybe we should start...?"

"I'll take you on!" Yamaguchi suddenly announced.

"Really?" said Hinata. He frowned at Yamaguchi, eyes sparkling. "Do you think you can win?"

"I'm not going to lose," Yamaguchi assured him, moving forward.

"Yamaguchi," said Tsukishima, his frown deepening.

Ignoring him, Yamaguchi took a stick from the packet and held it between him and Hinata. The smaller boy latched onto it as soon as he was offered it. Nishinoya was still calming down so nobody started them off; they began nibbling without instruction. Hinata looked as though he was rushing as Yamaguchi calmly took measured bites, getting closer to Hinata with each movement.

"Tsk."

Surprised by the noise, Kageyama turned to find Tsukishima glaring at the pair. His fists were clenched and his cheeks a touch red. Kageyama pulled the ball from his chest and spun it between his hands, staring at the taller boy. That caught Tsukishima's attention and he turned to narrow his eyes further at Kageyama. The setter glared back, unimpressed.

Seemingly recovered from his game, Nishinoya suddenly cheered. "Yeah! Go Shoyou!"

The two first years returned their attention to Hinata and Yamaguchi to find that they had gotten so close that their lips were almost touching. As Kageyama's heart clenched and flipped and did other odd things to stop him breathing, Hinata pressed forward suddenly, his tongue darting out. In the same instant, Yamaguchi's tongue swept out so their tongues met. Hinata's eyes widened: perhaps nobody had won against him because he was always so bold and now that someone had matched his actions, he was alarmed. Meanwhile, Yamaguchi smirked, tugging at the biscuit a little.

Hinata's eyes narrowed. All of a sudden, he surged forwards until his lips were pressed against Yamaguchi's. Evidently surprised, Yamaguchi's eyes widened. Then they fluttered, as if he couldn't decide whether to shut them or keep them open. His body had stiffened and he stayed in his position as Hinata kissed him, Hinata's tongue darting into Yamaguchi's mouth. Then, just as soon as he had kissed Yamaguchi, Hinata pulled back, his tongue darting out to show everyone the melted bit of Pocky that was left. He swallowed it down in the shocked silence and licked his lips.

"Hin... Hinata," said Yamaguchi, hoarsely.

"Haha!" Hinata said, his cheeks a little red. "Never done that before! But it was necessary!"

"Yeah, um..." Yamaguchi managed, weakly moving towards Tsukishima. His friend looked shocked – the most shocked Kageyama had ever seen him. In fact, he was sure his own face was set in a similar expression of alarm and dismay.

"Who's next?" Hinata asked, bouncing excitedly.

Kageyama's eyes darted over to the rest of the team. Suga looked partially amused, partially worried. Daichi had a hand on his forehead, as if he knew whatever happened next would give him a headache. Nishinoya and Tanaka looked equal parts surprised and relieved. Yachi was completely red in the face, so much so that Kiyoko was ignoring everyone else to fuss over the younger girl. Asahi looked absolutely terrified. Kinoshita and Narita looked like they were resigned to the inevitable while Ennoshita looked dismayed. None of them looked like they were going to volunteer.

But Kageyama knew that wouldn't deter Hinata. He would merely pick someone and plead with them until they gave in. Kageyama had sudden visions of the small Hinata kissing Asahi – and liking it. Maybe Asahi's strength would be attractive to Hinata who still had his height issues. Or maybe the knowing nature of Suga would be more appealing. The two of them kissing made Kageyama's heart clench.

"What about you, Tsukishima?" Hinata asked, yanking Kageyama from his thoughts with another stabbing pain.

"No," said Tsukishima, shortly. "I'm not taking part in something so lame."

"It's not lame, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi protested with a pout. Tsukishima avoided looking at Yamaguchi, glowering at Hinata who shrank back a little.

"Yes, it is," Tsukishima argued. "I'm not doing it."

Hinata smirked up at him, despite bouncing on the balls of his feet to stay alert and ready to fight if he needed to. "What's this, Tsukishima? You scared?"

Tsukishima's eyes narrowed more than they already were. "Of course not-"

"Think you're gonna lose?"

"I won't," Tsukishima assured him. "Because I won't be playing."

"Oh, it's not so bad, Tsukki," Yamaguchi told him, his benign smile slowly becoming a smirk.

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsukki."

"Oh, come on, Tsukishima," Hinata said, almost whining. "They taste good."

"I'm not going to get lured into it with the promise of foo-"

Before Tsukishima could finish speaking, Yamaguchi grabbed his arm and pulled him down so he could whisper in his ear. Everyone watched Tsukishima's eyebrows raise. He quickly pulled away from Yamaguchi and looked away, staring at the corner. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'll do it."

"Really?" asked Hinata excitedly. Grinning, he pulled another Pocky from the box.

And that was really as much as Kageyama could take. He couldn't bear to watch those two kissing and something about it made him angry. Without thinking, he dropped the volleyball and stepped forward. The movement caught Hinata's attention and the smaller boy turned to him, blinking in bewilderment. Kageyama's hand darted out and grabbed the biscuit from his hand. Then, without looking at it, he snapped it in two and threw the remains aside.

"What are you-?!" Hinata began, indignant.

Not bothering to listen to his protests, Kageyama merely grabbed the front of Hinata's shirt and pulled the red-head towards him and up until he could reach. Bending down, he locked onto his target and smashed his lips against Hinata's, pressing hard against them. He heard Hinata let out a small noise of surprise but he ignored it, tilting his head slightly to be able to kiss better. Then, remembering the Pocky and the way Hinata had won against Yamaguchi, Kageyama let his tongue dart out. Hinata's lips almost obediently parted enough for him to slide his tongue in, running it along Hinata's. He tasted of chocolate.

When he heard Hinata make another noise, almost like a moan, Kageyama drew away, vaguely realising that continuing would not be a good idea at the moment. He gently placed Hinata on the floor again and steadied him for a moment until the dazed blocker had stopped swaying. Once he had, Kageyama abruptly retracted his touch and picked up the volleyball.

"Kageyama...?" Hinata breathed, voice distant.

"We're wasting time," Kageyama growled. "Get your butt over here and I'll toss for you, dumbass." And, with that, he stalked off. It took a few moments but he soon heard Hinata's bounding footsteps following him onto the court and he smirked to himself.


End file.
